Formalized by the tenth century, the expansive Bhagavata Purana
resists easy categorization. While the narrative holds together as a
coherent literary work, its language and expression compete with the
best of Sanskrit poetry. The text's theological message focuses on
devotion to Krishna or Vishnu, and its philosophical outlook is grounded
in the classical traditions of Vedanta and Samkhya. No other Purana has
inspired so much commentary, imitation, and derivation. The work has
grown in vibrancy through centuries of performance, interpretation,
worship, and debate and has guided the actions and meditations of elite
intellectuals and everyday worshippers alike.
This annotated translation and detailed analysis shows how one text can
have such enduring appeal. Key selections from the Bhagavata Purana
are faithfully translated, while all remaining sections of the Purana
are concisely summarized, providing the reader with a continuous and
comprehensive narrative. Detailed endnotes explain unfamiliar concepts
and several essays elucidate the rich philosophical and religious
debates found in the Sanskrit commentaries. Together with the
multidisciplinary readings contained in the companion volume The
Bhagavata Purana: Sacred Text and Living Tradition (Columbia, 2013),
this book makes a central Hindu masterpiece more accessible to
English-speaking audiences and more meaningful to scholars of Hindu
literature, philosophy, and religion.
